‘Doctors Only Press Conferences’ Trends During Latest White House Coronavirus Briefing

As concerns around coronavirus continue to disrupt day-to-day life for Americans, along with a billion or so others around the world, President Donald Trump‘s near-daily briefings on the matter have left many feeling less than assured about the matter. So much so that Twitter users have rallied around a ‘Doctors Only Press Conferences’ hashtag in order to focus on facts and data, as well as what individuals can do to help protect themselves and others.

After downplaying the outbreak, Trump formally declared a national emergency on March 13, just two days after coronavirus was declared to be a global pandemic by the World Health Organization. However, at his speech in The White House Rose Garden, he brought along a number of CEOs from big-box retail outlets, which, of course, drew its fair share of side-eyed reactions at the time. In the weeks that have followed, which finds many Americans self-isolating to help slow the spread, many have turned to Dr. Anthony Fauci.

The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has been a prominent member of the medical community for decades, as well as a member of Trump’s coronavirus task force. He’s also increasingly refuted some of the president’s less substantiated claims and has helped drive the inspiration for coronavirus briefings that consist only of medical professionals.

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On a briefing Wednesday, Fauci said that it’s a real possibility that the coronavirus could become a seasonal issue while stating that the president’s 15-day plan simply wouldn’t be enough to effectively slow coronavirus down. 

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“Would this possibly become a seasonal cycle thing? I’ve always indicated to you that I think it very well might,” Fauci stated. “And the reason I say that, what we’re starting to see now in the southern hemisphere in southern Africa, in the southern hemisphere countries, we’re having cases that are appearing as they go enter their winter season.”

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“And if in fact, they have a substantial outbreak, it will be inevitable that we need to be prepared that we’ll get a cycle around the second time,” he added. 

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Fauci also spoke about potential treatments. “In addition to the randomized control trial of drugs so that we will have a menu of drugs that we have shown to be affected and shown to be safe,” he added. 

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Fauci was noticeably absent from Monday’s coronavirus briefing, and his return on Tuesday meant many viewers breathed a collective sigh of relief. 

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Though he’s been in the public eye for a number of years, Fauci first achieved viral fame earlier in March when he facepalmed behind the president as he made a “Deep State” remark — ignoring his own medical advice in the process.